The flowerpot is very exquisite, like a specially customized ceramic art. After Shade's inquiry, it was confirmed that this pot of flowers was given to Mr. Franco by a certain lady, and Shade also found floral letters at the bottom of the flowerpot.
The letters are almost identical to those found in Miss Norma's home:
【I will be buried in the mountains and be with the earth.】
"No, don't touch that pot of flowers."
A weak voice came from behind. Shade put down the flower pot and looked behind him. At this time, little Mr. Franco finally had some strength to speak.
This was good news, so under the supervision of the servants and old Mr. Franco, Shade sat by the bed and had a brief conversation with the weak man.
The winter sun shines on the profile of the weak man leaning against the bedside. His sunken eyes and white lips look so terrifying in the sunlight.
"Excuse me, what is your relationship with Miss Norma?"
"I love her deeply."
The young man tried hard to spit out the sound from his mouth. Even though he was weak at the moment, his eyes were still so firm when he said this. Mr. Franco's expression became obviously more sad. Shade did not comment on this feeling:
"Why do you love her? Because she is beautiful? Because she talks well? Because she has a very good character?"
"It's all about hugging her, just like when you were a child, being hugged by your mother."
Shade pursed his lips, and old Mr. Franco became even more sad. The servants looked aside as if they had not heard this sentence.
"I am Shad Hamilton, the detective of this city. Oh, look at your expression, you have heard of my name. So, do you know what is wrong with Miss Norma?"
Mr. Franco shook his head hard:
"She is fine, everything is fine, she loves life, she loves the earth, she loves me."
Shade tried hard not to make a strange expression:
"Miss Norma is missing. If you want to help her, please tell me the truth. In the name of Rejed's Hamilton, what you say will not be spread to others."
He raised his head and glanced at old Mr. Franco, who nodded and asked the servants to leave temporarily, so there were only three people and one cat left here. The sleepy cat was hiding in the deep pocket on the inside of Shade's coat.
It's cute.
"Norma seems to have some self-destructive tendencies."
After hesitating for a long time, the weak Mr. Franco finally spoke:
"Sometimes, I really feel that she is like a fragile vase. So beautiful, yet so fragile. When we were alone together, she told me countless times that she would eventually return to the earth. The earth nourished her.
, and she will return everything she has to the earth. I once peeked. I peeked at her diary."
It seems that it was not that Miss Norma did not have the habit of writing a diary, but that the diary was also taken away.
"She planned to return herself to the earth when she was most beautiful. She even made a plan. I originally thought it was a lonely woman talking to herself."
"Oh~"
Old Mr. Franco groaned and couldn't believe that his son actually knew such a person. According to the teachings of the Five Gods Church, suicide is a huge sin. Besides, this sounds like a so-called cult sacrifice.
.
Shade frowned slightly:
"What's the plan?"
"She wrote very briefly. She just expressed excitement that the time was coming soon. I don't know what she meant specifically."
"Do you really know nothing?"
Shade lowered his voice slightly, and Mr. Franco turned his head to look at him with difficulty. For a moment, the dazed young man showed a frightened expression for some reason. He swallowed hard, and this time it was very difficult.
Nodding with certainty:
"Yes, I really don't know. However, maybe others know. My relationship with Norma is actually not the best. I know that she has other men she knows well. Maybe you, like your father, think that
I am crazy, but my love is not as crazy as those other people who are willing to do anything for her."
Little Mr. Franco's clues were almost all obtained by Shade at this point. Little Mr. Franco admired softly:
"She is a very special person, very special. The real world is so boring, she is like the only green sprout in the desert. Even if I know that she cannot exist for a long time, I am still willing to dedicate myself to her."
His voice became weaker and weaker, and old Mr. Franco immediately called the doctor in, and then went to talk with Shade outside the door.
"Mr. Hamilton, I'm really sorry for letting you see the scene just now. Next, you will be looking for Miss Norma while looking for Mr. Martin, right?"
The old gentleman asked with concern. After Shade nodded, he took out the checkbook from his pocket and filled in a number for him:
"If you can find Miss Norma, please try to bring her here. I will have a good talk with that lady. No matter what method I use, I will persuade her to leave my son."
Shade took the check and glanced at the number, then raised his eyebrows slightly. It was 30 pounds, but he just brought the woman over. You must know that workers in ordinary steam factories or textile factories in Tobesk cannot earn this amount in a year:
"I can accept your commission. But judging from the current clues, it is possible, of course, that the lady has encountered misfortune."
Shade expressed his judgment as tactfully as possible. Unexpectedly, Mr. Franco's face remained as usual:
"Detective Hamilton, if you can bring me the news of her death, I am willing to pay double, no, triple the reward. Yes, as long as it is the news of her death. You know what I mean."
Shade pretended not to understand the hidden meaning of his words.
The clues did not stop here. On the contrary, thanks to this brief conversation, Shade knew more things. He did not take away the potted plant in question rashly, but after having lunch with Mia, he
I spent an afternoon visiting other gentlemen who were familiar with Miss Norma at the addresses I had so far.
This lady has "wide friends", and those gentlemen live in every corner of the city. But what is very interesting is that two of them are missing like Mr. Martin, whom Shade is looking for, while the others are as long as they are at home.
Most of the potted plants given by Miss Norma were in an extremely unhealthy state.
Of course, Mr. Franco Jr. is the most serious one among them.
This kind of investigation allowed Shade to learn more about Miss Norma. This lady had no father since she was a child. Her mother worked in the manor of a local noble when she was young, and Miss Norma followed her mother in the manor when she was young.
grow up.
Later, the nobles were punished by the kingdom for committing crimes, and the manor was abandoned. Miss Norma's mother died of a cold a few years later. Miss Norma relied on her beauty to linger among men until early 1854, when Shade began this
An investigation was conducted. Although Shade pieced together her life trajectory from the descriptions of those men, many people have seen previous photos of Miss Norma, so these words are basically true.
However, she has never left Tobesk in her simple life, and she seems to have never been in contact with any abnormal group. This is the only doubt at present.
So this Thursday night, little Mia was looking after the house at home, and Shade once again went to the home of little Mr. Franco, who was seriously ill and recovering.
At about ten o'clock, he used his own magic to sneak into Mr. Franco's bedroom. There was no gas light in the room, and only the moonlight illuminated a part of the window.
Shade covered his face with his hands in the shadow corner, turned into a petrified angel, and stood there quietly.
Although the wait was a bit long, it was indeed worth it. Around 11:30, as the cold wind blew through the room with closed doors and windows, a transparent woman's hand stretched out from the dark soil of the potted plant on the window sill.
It was a rather strange scene. The mouth of the potted plant illuminated by the moonlight was no more than the size of two palms. However, the terrifying-looking evil spirit that Shade encountered in Miss Norma's home during the day was forced to escape from it.
squeezed out.
With its appearance, the indoor scenery quickly became decayed as if it had been destroyed by hundreds of years. Of course, this was just an illusion caused by the appearance of a powerful evil spirit.
Little Mr. Franco, who was originally sleeping, although he was still asleep at this time, had a frightened expression on his face, and his two eyes quickly rotated under his eyelids.
The strange undead kept approaching the bed, but before it came to the bed, five glowing rings of moonlight had already flown towards it.
"Confining Halo!"
The evil spirit moves very fast and moves even faster. It moves and dodges like a fluttering paper, and its aiming halo follows closely.
"Raglai's Leap!"
Shade took a step forward and appeared behind it. He wanted to know the truth of the matter through the undead, so he held the evil spirit's arm with his left hand and tried to capture it, and then used thaumaturgy to "guide death" to spy on the soul. But his left hand
As soon as he came into contact with the spirit body, he felt a painful and itchy feeling as if he had been pricked by countless burrs, which made him shiver.
[The soul has been contaminated by some kind of power and has the characteristics of petrification and curse. Don’t worry, it won’t work on you.]
The [Confinement Halo] had already flown in at this time. And this obviously abnormal soul, just like in the morning, disappeared from Shade's eyes after a muffled bang.
Of course, Shade would not make two mistakes. Even though the evil spirit disappeared, the [Confinement Halo] still hit the spirit's left hand, so that after the evil spirit escaped, the spirit's blackened severed arm was still in Shade's hand.
Generally speaking, unless special methods are used, it is impossible for the soul to be split like this. At this time, the [Confinement Halo] obviously plays a role, which is also a function of this thaumaturgy.
"Although he's not particularly strong, he can run really fast."
Shade frowned slightly, then turned to look at the potted plant by the window. Under the bright moonlight, clear cracks appeared on the surface of the small pottery pot. Presumably that weird soul would never visit little Mr. Franco again, Shade
Worthy of the 30 pounds given by old Mr. Franco...